Bivins won both Buggy and Short Course at Rocket City Challenge

0 Sept. 25, 2015, 1:27 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Race report from X-Factory:
www.xfactoryrc.com

CADE BIVINS DOUBLES AT ROCKET CITY CHALLENGE

X Factory Team driver Cade Bivins drove his X – 6 Cubed buggy and SCX – 61 SC truck to wins at the 6th Annual Rocket City Challenge last weekend at RC3 Raceway in Huntsville, Alabama. Bivins TQed short course and won the second qualifier in buggy to start second on that grid.

RC3 Raceway presented a tight, bumpy, technical – but fun! – red clay outdoor track for 119 entries at this 6th annual race, and Cade Bivins came all the way from his home in Kentucky for the fun. Two qualifiers would be run, with 10-minute A mains. The hot Alabama sun meant track conditions changed throughout the day; tire selection was critical. Bivins said, “The bumpy track made going difficult for many 1/10 cars and all the electric eighth scales made the loamy track change all the time. My carbon fiber X Factory cars were right at home and looked very good indeed out there. I had a real advantage.”

In 2WD SC Bivins TQed the first round of qualifying with his new SCX – 61, then made the simple change to increase rear toe-in and ran away with the second round to start from the pole. In the 10-minute A main, Cade ran away with a wire-to-wire win, lapping the entire field.

2WD buggy was a bit more difficult for the young X Factory driver. After taking second in Q1 just one second behind the winner, Bivins made the same toe-in change and TQed round two to start second on the grid with great confidence. He and the TQ traded the lead several times in the first half of the race; Bivins took over first about the 6-minute mark and motored off to the win. After the win, Bivins said, “I had great confidence in my Cubed on this outdoor track. I knew I was faster and waited patiently for my chance. My car was totally dialed and once I got in the lead I knew all I needed to do is drive well.”